Translator: Truth Editor : Dhael Ligerkeys If even that blade technique wasn’t enough to breach her defense, then honestly it didn’t matter if Yi Yi and Amber joined him. They wouldn’t be able to harm her regardless. [I can’t just give up now!] There was a small problem though. His enemy was moving too fast for him to land a clean hit. He would have to create an opportunity if he wished to land a hit. Suddenly, Lu Ye staggered as if his wounds had finally caught up to him. Lan Zi Yi wasn’t one to let go of such an opportunity. She immediately thrust her right sword forward and successfully struck Lu Ye’s stomach! The blade passed right through his back, eliciting a muffled groan from Lu Ye. Before he could retaliate, she thrust her left sword toward his neck. If it hit, he would lose all ability to fight even if he survived somehow. The sharp blade grew bigger and bigger in his vision. When it was right in front of him, he abruptly raised his left hand to block the attack. The tip of the sword easily pierced through his palm… because that was what he wanted to happen. He reached out and caught Lan Zi Yi’s hand with his left hand before she could react. For a second, the woman couldn’t understand what was going on. Then, she saw Lu Ye’s cold expression and realized she had been tricked. Lu Ye’s act of weakness was just a feint; a bait to lure her into recklessness. Of course, it wasn’t without a heavy price. Both his stomach and his left hand were skewered by a greatsword. He was ruthless toward his enemy and even more ruthless toward himself. Alarm bells rang in Lan Zi Yi’s head, and her skin started prickling like they were poked by needles. Her senses were warning her that she might die if she did not take defensive action immediately. Her aura flashed. For the first time, she manifested the Spirit Dress that always appeared right before she was about to get hit of her own accord. Shred! The sound of tearing clothes reached her ears, but it wasn’t her clothes that were being shredded. Specifically, it was Lu Ye’s right sleeve. His right arm had abruptly swelled so much that the fabric was torn apart by the strain. It was because he had channeled all of his vitality into his right arm in an instant. It was to the point where his face turned deathly white. Lu Ye raised his saber and brought it down in one violent motion. At that moment, the Inviolable was but a blur of movement! Flash! Combo! Lu Ye had swung his saber a total of three times, and each attack was a Flash empowered by two Sharp Edges. Combo was essentially a multi-attack technique. It was specifically created to break through tough defenses just like the one right in front of him. Lu Ye was planning to hit Lan Zi Yi a fourth time, but his right arm had lost all strength and senses after the third strike. It was bad enough that his arm was the size of his thigh, but the skin was cracked, the muscles were snapped, and it was completely covered in blood. It was a horrifying sight to say the least. He didn’t even notice that the Inviolable had flown out of his grip until later. His gamble had succeeded though. Lan Zi Yi’s Spirit Dress had perfectly blocked the first strike, dimmed considerably during the second, and finally broke under the third. The attack had left a wound that stretched all the way from her right shoulder to the left lower abdomen. The wound went so deep that he could vaguely see her beating heart behind the gnarly wound. Combo had not only broken Lan Zi Yi’s Spirit Dress, but also grievously wounded her. She sailed through the air like a sack of meat. However, the woman managed to whip out her leg right before she was pushed away from Lu Ye. It landed squarely on his temple like a whip. The woman had not given up a single opportunity to land a counterattack so far. She was as brutal as a beast! Lu Ye couldn’t have dodged the attack even if he saw it coming. He was given no chance to react as he was sent flying. The greatswords violently ripped out of his stomach and his palm. Blood sprayed all over the place even as they merged into the blood fog surrounding his body. When Lu Ye finally landed, stars filled his vision, and he couldn’t differentiate right or left, up or down. He tried to climb back to his feet, but he was so dizzy that he collapsed to the floor. This would repeat a couple more times before he finally managed a half-kneeling position. He wasn’t faring well, but his opponent was hardly looking healthy either. The attack had completely confounded Lan Zi Yi. Before this battle, she did not even think it was possible for a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator to wound her, much less grievously wound her. As Han Tiejun said, the woman had been treating the challenge of the Scroll of Supremacy as a game this whole time. It wasn’t until she encountered Lu Yi Ye that she finally got serious. She was going all out, but the combat cultivator had still nearly killed her in three strikes. Yi Yi and Amber made their move the moment Lan Zi Yi was sent flying. The apparition and tiger had followed Lu Ye for a very long time. Naturally, they knew exactly when to stay hidden and when to join in the battle. Earlier, they had held back because Lan Zi Yi was protected by her Spirit Dress. There wasn’t much they could do to her even if they had joined the battle. But now, Lan Zi Yi’s Spirit Dress was broken, and Lu Ye could not even stand on his feet. Naturally, this was their time to shine. Lan Zi Yi wasn’t stupid though. Her wound was severe enough that continuing fighting was at best an unwise option. If Lu Yi Ye was alone, then she would’ve chosen to stay and fight. Considering his condition, the battle could still go either way. But Lu Yi Ye wasn’t alone. His Tamed Beast was pouncing toward her, and she had no idea where that spell-throwing girl had even come from. A quick thought later, she mumbled something under her breath and vanished from the battlefield. Yi Yi’s spells sailed harmlessly through the space where Lan Zi Yi was. She looked angry enough to rip someone to pieces. She rushed back to Lu Ye’s side to see how he was doing, but he wasn’t moving at all. Even his breath seemed to have ceased completely. The only sign that he was even still alive was the light in his eyes, and even that had become fainter than ever before… Yi Yi burst into tears immediately. She had never seen Lu Ye looking this terrible since they began adventuring together. Even his state when she had to carry him to Mount Ying and seek Hua Ci’s help paled in comparison to this. She hurriedly laid Lu Ye on the ground while calling out to Amber, “We need to take him to Sister Hua Ci now!” Amber ran off to grab the Inviolable. After it came back, it bit Lu Ye’s collar and waited. Before Yi Yi dove back into Amber’s body, she called toward the sky, “Send us out!” The Heavens enveloped them in its mysterious power and teleported them away from the arena. As soon as Amber and Lu Ye reappeared on the third floor, Yi Yi’s panicked voice immediately rang out from the tiger’s body, “SISTER HUA CI! SISTER HUA CI!” Yi Yi could not show herself while the Yuan Metal Storm was active, but she could still communicate from within Amber. “I’m coming!” Hua Ci immediately responded. Hua Ci had been waiting in the wooden building and preparing everything she might need to treat Lu Ye such as hot water, herbs, bandages and more. It was because she knew that there was no way Lu Ye was getting out of this fight unscathed. Hua Ci immediately lifted Lu Ye to the bed. She then sat next to him and inspected his wounds. Her expression grew more and more serious as she glanced at Lu Ye’s face. The light in his eyes was faint, but he looked like he still desired to live to see another day. Yi Yi asked nervously, “How is he, Sister Hua Ci?” For a time, Hua Ci remained perfectly silent. Then, she covered Lu Ye’s eyes with a hand and swiped down. Yi Yi’s heart skipped a beat as a tremor entered her voice, “S-Sister Hua Ci?” “Yes?” Hua Ci responded carelessly. When she noticed that Lu Ye’s eyes were still open, she attempted to close them yet again. “What are you doing, you toxic woman?” Lu Ye blinked while saying in a weak voice, “I’m not dead yet! I’m not moving because I’m trying to save my stamina.” “I know you’re not dead,” Hua Ci defended herself, “I’m just trying to close your eyes so you can catch some rest. You’re the one who keeps opening your eyes and acting like you’ve died with a vengeance!” Lu Ye’s liver was literally hurting from the bullshit Hua Ci was treating him. He decided to close his eyes and ignore her completely. Yi Yi interrupted angrily, “Are you two children? Now is not the time to be joking around!” A while later, Hua Ci decided that Lu Ye’s injuries, while definitely serious, were nothing a cultivator should be concerned about as most of them were either flesh wounds or penetrating injuries. With Lu Ye’s physique and Hua Ci’s skill, it would only take him a few days to recover. In fact, the worst injury Lu Ye suffered wasn’t the penetrating wound in his abdomen, but his swollen right arm. After executing Flash three times in a row using Combo, his flesh and blood had literally torn itself apart. Right now, his right arm had swollen to the size of his thigh because the vitality had become clogged inside it, not to mention the other injuries. Not even an outstanding medicine cultivator like Hua Ci could treat him without considerable effort, especially considering that the Yuan Metal Storm sealed off many healing methods. Almost half a day later, Lu Ye was basking comfortably in a barrel full of warm, aquamarine-colored liquid. Hua Ci was sitting next to him and massaging his right arm. Steam filled the room as Lu Ye silently recuperated from his injuries. The greatest battle at the Spirit Creek Realm level; a duel that everyone was looking forward to the result of had finally ended. Naturally, it wasn’t long before the outcome of the battle spread throughout the world. Lan Zi Yi of Infinite Island had emulated Lu Yi Ye’s example and defeated every ranker above her. No one was able to stop her, and she was able to make it all the way to third place. Unfortunately, she ultimately lost by a hair’s breadth during the final battle against Lu Yi Ye! No one was too surprised by the news. Lu Ye had dominated the Spirit Creek Battlefield for a long time after all. Although the Thousand Demon Ridge was confident that Lan Zi Yi was qualified to give Lu Yi Ye a run for his money, they weren’t exactly optimistic about her chances either. They had already lost to Lu Yi Ye too many times to count. What was one more loss? Meanwhile, the Grand Sky Coalition also let out a huge sigh of relief. As Lu Ye was the one being challenged this time, the stakes were a lot higher. If he won, people would think that it was natural as he was the champion. But if he lost, not only would he lose his position, the Thousand Demon Ridge would not hesitate to kick him while he was down so to speak. Despite the difference in their reaction, both the Grand Sky Coalition and the Thousand Demon Ridge shared a common understanding, and that was that the Spirit Creek Battlefield was entering an unprecedented era. For the first time, a cultivator was about to dominate an entire battlefield single handedly! This had never happened before. Even the Three Tumors were only strong enough to keep each other in check. Moreover, their strength was purely individual. From a holistic perspective, they were unable to bring their faction too much glory or profit. Lu Yi Ye was different, however. He was individually strong, but he also did many things that the Three Tumors could never have done. For example, he had turned the Inner Circle upside down by leading an invasion force and conquering over two hundred enemy Outposts. He was hardly idle during his time in the Core Circle either. One could even say that he was the literal definition of a harbinger as havoc trailed every step of his way. Sure, he hadn’t conquered any Outpost yet, but could anyone claim that he wouldn’t do such a thing after he ascended to Heaven Nine? The worst part was that no one in the Thousand Demon Ridge could stop him if he really did such a thing! For a time, many higher-ups grew white hair despite their cultivation. They needed to find a way to secure the Outposts after Lu Ye was at Heaven Nine as soon as possible.